Drawn: The Painted Tower
by Daniel Wilks
Summary: The story of fantasy, of drama, and of a warrior heeding the call.
1. Prologe

Drawn: the painted tower

_In a world shrouded in darkness… in a town bleak, and trampled… a small girl stands atop a tall tower… a beacon of hope… imprisoned by shadows… she calls out for help… but her voice is stolen, by the wind… and her tears…. Like dreams, are lost in the night._

Franklin Fortunato.

The Dark ages.

The time when the Dragon King, the dark elementalist wizard, took over the kingdom of Stonebriar. No one knew who he was actually, or what he looked like.

He spends his time in his dark castle, plotting, planning, and thinking in his chambers. In war, he would wave the flag of death.

With the banner of the dragon waving in the storm he demolished neighboring countries and made it rain blood over the world.

It wasn't always like that, dear reader, no.

Once, it was a great kingdom with the belief that the arts were the most glorious gift that was given to them by the gods.

First, the royal family of the newly christened kingdom of Stonebriar started their rule by protecting the kingdom from the darkness that came from the north by making the three beacons of the arts.

You see, the Old king and the Old queen were great wizards of light and creativity, and so it was that their children, later in time, had magic in them as well.

They created paintings that were enchanted to be magical doorways into fantastical worlds. Like the land of the Gryphon, in which the mountains were covered in snow and frost, to the consult of the frogs, a underwater land in which their rule was made under the king of all frogs and toads, and the council, who governed them.

But the festival of the Phoenix was the greatest accomplishment in the kingdom, every night the squares of the kingdom was lit with torches and there was much dancing, singing, laughter, good food and drink. All in the name of the fire-bringer, the life-giver, and the war-avenger.

For many, many ages the family ruled over the land in peace and in prosperity.

Then, he came. The wizard with the dark heart, who had flown on dark wings in the form of the dragon, the enemy of the gryphon.

The dragon kills, pollutes, and destroys. It plunges whole worlds into darkness, without even a small prick of fire. Only the dark blue flames of the underworld is the only "light" it can stand. The gryphon is noble, wise, and fights for what's right and it's pure good, with light in its heart and in its soul. After the arrival of the Wizard, the wars began. The Old king and the mighty army of warriors, knights, mages, guardians, archers, and warlocks versus the Dark Wizard and his army of demons and humanoid/dragon people he created for that purpose, for war.

After much fighting, after so much blood, after many deaths, no matter how hard the Old king fought to keep his kingdom, it fell. Yes, dear reader, the kingdom of Stonebriar had fallen under the wizard's spell, and his rule.

The first thing he did, after he killed the Old king, he then sought out the rest of the royal family and killed the rest of them, the Old Queen and the prince, But the wizard was arrogant and foolish, he didn't know that there was a daughter who had most of the power, she was taken away by a loyal servant of the old king, to a lone tower in which the resided until the final wars.

Then he took over the entire kingdom, demolished the mighty beacons that protected the kingdom from the darkness, ripped down the paintings, silenced the music, and re-written knowledge and history. He even blinded the citizens by placing woven darkness over the citizen's eyes in the form of a blindfold, so the citizens could not see or know. As was the wish of the wizard, now the Dark King.

He now resides in the castle with his consult, The Dark Court Of Righteousness. It established the many factions of the kingdom.

The most famous at the time was the great Dark Guards of the royal halls, these warriors are brutal to their victims, no mercy in the battlefield, and fiercely loyal to their master.

But out of the 674 factions in the kingdom, the most legendary of all, would be the lowest of them. That faction was the dragonhead guardsmen.

Why were they so legendary, it was because of one guard, whose story it is. This, this is the story of a guard, a girl, a being made of pure energy, and a tyrant. This is, Drawn, the tale of the painted tower.

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Well, That's the starting point in my story, everyone! i hope you will enjoy this story as much as i enjoy writing to you guys! make sure to review this and comment. Otherwise, have a great day!


	2. Dreams, Bells, and Dragons

Well Boys and Girls! today is the first chapter of the book Drawn: The Painted Tower. As always with other authors i would like to dedicate this chapter to a certain guy know as...

Shadow knight1121: Thank you for mentioning little ol' me in your final chapter of your newest book Shadows of Arkham City. I am truly honored for you mentioning me and I really enjoy your works, Jayden Warney, huh. Hope we can do a cross over sometime! later though or not. And it would be an honor if you review this.

Well, enough talking! lets get to it!

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Daniel Wilks woke, his body drenched in sweat.

The nightmare, still fresh in his mind, happened again. It had haunted him during his years as an apprentice guardsman in the gatehouse of twilight, and now it had happened again, in the gatehouse of the night, where the guardsmen Warriors were boarded up, on the fifth floor nevertheless.

It started with the fire, always the fire, then and the men in black armor, fierce, black eyes glittering with malice.

Then, swords clash before his 6-year-old self; blood rains down on his linen shirt and on his burlap pants. The night turning blacker than black, into the shape of a dragon the size of the Stonebriar fortress. Then, into a huge monster that glows blue with huge tusks and bulging muscles with crooked rams horns on its head with a clenched fist with bone claws between the knuckles on each of its two arms.

The monster turns and looks at him, stares at him with a piercing stare, then, the monster crouched down on its elephant feet, opened a clenched fist, with claws sheathed, and in its huge palm, a little girl in a raggedy looking dress, with patches, stands up from the fetal position she was in and looked up at him with shockingly blue eyes and asked "who are you?"

Daniel looks at her with confusion and then, the girl erupts in flames with a horrible scream that pierced the marrow in his bones. Then, it got worse, the hellhounds appeared.

They started to circle the kid Daniel, snarling, and barking ferociously at him. Daniel was deathly scared, no, terrified of those huge teeth and the claws…. Daniel shook his head, his brunette hair swishing as he shook his head.

He supported himself on the bed, "Don't think about that, not now." He told himself. Right after he told himself that, then, there was a knock at the door of his sleepbox, the rooms that the guardsmen had that were set into the walls of the tower that the sleepboxes were located.

" Come in" Daniel said, his voice groggy from sleep and hoarse from…. screaming? No, not that. Could it? No. Daniel shook his head again and opened the door of the sleepbox when another knock sounded.

Otto Fischer, one of Daniel's trusted friends was staring at him in concern, Already in uniform, A black long-sleeved undershirt, a leather over shirt, dark indigo pants and knee length leather boots. A quarterstaff with a metal axe attached to the wooden pole strapped to his back."You were screaming in your sleep again, mate," he said in a heavily cockned accented voice, his green eyes narrowed in concern with his ginger hair in the way of his eyes.

"No! I wasn't screaming in my sleep," protested Daniel. "Yeah, right." Otto said, " I'm right next to you!" he pointed to his own sleepbox that was right next to his own, "So don't you be telling me, oh no." Otto mimicked Daniels own voice, " I'm Daniel Wilks!" he said as he did a little dance "I'm the guy who doesn't have bad dreams, and I'm the guy who always tries to ring the bell on the bell tower."

"Hey!" Daniel protested. "At least I don't go around carrying a huge stick on my back." Otto made a face. "And besides, it was only a nightghast, nothing too serious." Otto shrugged and said "Well, at least I have my uniform on, which reminds me, Brekkies on soon, you'd probably want to get the uniform on, or you'll get the stick."

Daniel groaned and rolled his eyes, cursing himself for not doing that and said "Yeah thanks, well, see you at the Mess Hall." Otto nodded, turned and climbed down the ladder that connected the 5th floor sleepboxes to the other floors, from 10th to the 1st floor.

Daniel went back into his sleepbox and did the routine that he always did when he didn't have that nightmare, He took a shower, and it spurted out warm water.

After the shower, he changed from the towel around his waist, to the uniform of the swordsman class guardsman. A black long sleeved undershirt, a dark green overshirt, leather gloves, black cotton pants, and knee length leather boots. Daniel looked at the mirror and groaned.

The overshirt was too long at the arms. He rolled up the sleeves and hitched up his father's sword. The memory of his father made him curl his upper lip in disgust, why did he betray the Court? Why did he join the small rebels against the society that the king has set up for the townsfolk and why did he forget who he was? He was a knight at Dragons tooth! The most highly respected academy in the kingdom! Why? Why? Why? Daniel shook his head and strapped it to his back with the sheath.

Then got his crossbow and quiver, strapped the crossbow to a leather loop on his belt and the quiver to his back, and headed down to the mess hall that was a ways away from the Gatehouse of the Midnight, which was located on the wall of the kingdom. As he walked down the path of the wall he stopped for a while and looked out at the world beyond the wall. He rested his hands on its edge; the blue light torches illuminated his features. The unusual blue eyes, the untidy brunette bed head hair, the subtle cheekbones, the small nose, the smile wrinkles around his eyes, and the aura of confidence he seemed to produce when he's trying to encourage the other guardsmen to do something they didn't want to do, but they had to do it anyway.

Daniel looked into the distance and wondered what was beyond…. Then the clanging of the breakfast bell tolled out to the kingdom, signaling that breakfast would be served in 15 minutes. He jogged the rest of the way to the Breakfast hall, The huge pavilion with a stone square that had the 6 classes tables set and prepared, but no food yet, not until everyone was seated and present.

He passed by some fellow guardsmen, who nodded at him with some respect, and took a seat on the bench at the swordsmen's table. Most of the apprentice guardsmen were already there, but the seniors weren't. Seniors always had the night shift at the wall and the town, the apprentices had the library, the court halls, and the lucky ones got the markets, if they knew the right people of course.

"Hey! Dan the Man!" someone shouted. Daniel turned his head… and caught sight of the speaker. "Rodger?" he asked. The speaker nodded happily, " Man!" He said "Glad to be out of the town today!" Rodger sat down next to Daniel and asked "So, how's the Biter today?"

Rodger was a huge kid.

16 years old and of African heritage. Not like the 14-year-old Daniel. He was a Belitier, the spot when a guardsman got the chance to be picked and placed into a squad.

Even with his huge hands, the incredible strength that made him sort of a brute, and the shaved head, He was a happy-go-lucky guy. And a peacekeeper, He hardly used the war-hammer that was strapped to his back except when there were training fights and to get some attention from some unruly townsfolk.

Daniel and Rodger met during a training match, and woo. It was intense. Sword versus Hammer, metal clanging on metal, each taking heavy blows. With the leather training armor and everything, but it wasn't faring well for Daniel. He was pinned down, 5 inches between a loss or pain with a hammer handle pushing him down by the Belitier. But when Rodger stuck out a finger in the "uh, uh, uh" wave when he tried to struggle out of the stalemate, Daniel bit it hard.

Rodger pulled away and after a Spartan kick that made him tumble to the ground, Dan pinned him down which resulted in him winning.

Since then, Rodger called him "The Biter", out of affection of course.

"Why a bad day out at the town?" Daniel asked. Rodger rolled his eyes, sighed, and said "well, that resistance group?, the Phoenix Sun Movement? You know them? They raided, not five, fifteen market stalls and six ironwork shops! Last time it was three ironwork shops but now..." Rodger's voice trailed off and he shook his head.

"What?" Daniel asked, concerned. Rodger's face was stone grim, eyes narrowed, thinking. Then, the Breakfast bell toned again, signaling three minutes and Rodger snapped out of his trance and blinked.

"You o.k.?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Its just that it's unusual for them to raid this much, Plus," Rodger intoned with a smile " I'm wondering what's for breakfast! I'm starving." He stretched the "ving" which was followed by the rumble of his stomach.

"Right on cue" Daniel laughed.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Rodger said, insulted "Have you had a long shift? No? Then don't you be making fun of a man's right to eat!" Daniel chuckled, nodded and then noticed the other guardsmen had started to pour into the Hall.

"You better get back to your table or people would be asking questions about your well being." Since, as he said, people were staring at Rodger with questioning looks.

It was unnatural for a student of one class to be seated at the same table with another student; it provided the thought that they were planning something together.

Rodger nodded, stood up and walked away. But he paused as he stood up and said "Think there'll be a war pretty soon?"

Daniel was taken aback.

"Why ask me?, why not ask the Headmaster or someone else?, why me?" Rodger shrugged.

"You have better judgment." He said simply.

With that he walked away. Daniel leaned back on the bench and mused on Rodgers words._ Better judgment?_ Daniel thought, _No, not me, I just help out people with advice from my point of view. Nothing special, No "magic" powers in that._ Daniel's thoughts were interrupted by a loud cough that silenced all of the guardsmen who were talking.

Everyone's heads turned to the second floor.

That was where the teachers were seated for their mealtimes, on their carved oak chairs with dragon's heads for the armrests.

On the headpieces were the symbols of factions that the teachers represented. Daniel saw his training teacher, Nicholas Ryder; a medium set man with years of training with the sword underneath his belt. He was also the Head of the swordsmen Class.

To His right was The Archery Teacher, Yusuf Kabra. He was a small man, Lithe in his small frame and thick in his eyebrows, but powerful in strategies and tactics.

To Ryder's left was his least favorite of all of the teachers and of all of the people in the academy.

It was Pyrimus Hatch, the teacher of the Guardsmen Mages.

He was tall and thin. He had long, white hair that was cut short with a goatee to match his personality. Cold, dark, and downright creepy.

He also had a stoop when he walked which gave him the nickname "The Creeping Serpent" when it was wartime.

But to the students, it was "Old man Stoop".

He looked down at the students with downright disgust from his chair. But it wasn't him who coughed, no, it was the Headmaster.

He was a thickset man with great bushy eyebrows with a nose so sharp; it can cut through silence with a single turn of the head. He wore a Cloak woven of pure darkness, which was presented to him by a messenger of the King. Since he wears the Cloak, His eyes were Dark purple with no pupil, which was a sign that he was part of the Court.

"Guardsmen!" he bellowed in his bullfrog voice. "Another day or, another night for the people." All of the Guardsmen stared at him, unblinking. Daniel looked at him too. "As you may have heard." The Headmaster continued, in his regular voice. "There were raids in the town last night, now, now." He said as there were excited whispers that were hushed. "No need for alarm, your fellow Guardsmen has driven them off, although." He paused " But three fellow guardsmen alone, not mentioning any names, actually caught one of the Bandits and he is now giving us information as we speak!"

There was loud whooping in the air as Three figures stood up, One from the archery class, one from the Hammer class, and one from the Swordsmen class, which Daniel didn't have to see who it was when he stood up with the loudest applause since he already knew who he and who the other people were.

It was Tiberius Lynch Hatch, the grandson of Pyrimus Hatch, and his two cronies, Tim Eldest and Artemis Hemlock.

Tiberius has the look that everyone wants, Tall, tan, muscled, Blonde hair, and a stupid cleft chin. Not like his cronies, Artemis was a thin boy with a thin face and a weasel like personality. He called himself the "brains" of the gang. Tim was the definition of a brute, big, muscled, a stupid face with small brains to match.

Tiberius always did what everyone only dreamed of, like taking care of angry mobs fighting over unfair prices or protecting a diplomat from a neighboring kingdom and escorting him to Stonebriar. He was also a senior and had won many metals that were given him with gratitude from the king himself, pinned onto his uniform by the Headmaster.

"Thank you." Tiberius said in his slow, cocky drawl "No, that's enough, well, o.k. More applause, please" since most of the Guardsmen were, in fact, clapping madly. Even Pyrimus was clapping, very softly, with a smirk on his wrinkled face with his high cheekbones. But Daniel wasn't, underneath that blonde hair, that "heroic" face, Tiberius was a disgrace to the Guardsmen.

He always started the day by doing his favorite pastime, playing "get the guard" with his Guardsman, Daniel Wilks. Basically, the game was about getting a guard, and smashing his head into the ground while saying things about the guard's origins.

For example, Daniel's father betrayed the Court, and Tiberius had so much fun whispering that into Daniels ear, saying that the Headmaster will kick him out into the streets on Graduation day. Another loud cough from the Headmaster silenced all of the Guardsmen; include the three "Heroes of the Moment" who froze, then sat down again.

"Now, again, we have to be aware of these things." continued The Headmaster "And we must know how to fight against the "Resistance", they aren't fighting for a purpose, they are fighting for the purpose of wrecking our society and bring our justice to their knees!" He slammed his hands onto the podium that he was speaking from.

There was loud cheering and angry agreements from the crowd. Daniel clapped with some gusto, but not much. _Huh, _Daniel thought. _Justice? I saw a man got hanged for stealing food for his family who were living in the slums. How is that "justice"? People are living in hard times! _Daniel shrugged and then a shocking thought came to him. _What __is__ our justice?_

"Now!" The Headmaster roared, which made Daniel jump from his thought bubble. "That is all the announcements that I needed to make, so, without further ado, Breakfast is served!" Then the Kitchen doors slammed open, the Chef and his serving girls stepped from the kitchen.

The Chef was a squat man with ruddy cheeks and a small mustachio on his upper lip.

The serving girls were all the same, Tall, well nourished, 14-years-old, curves in the right places, and all were wearing aprons and cooking uniforms.

The Chef clapped his hands and the girls went back into the kitchen and they brought back platters of food. One carried eggs, cooked in all styles, fried, scrambled, hard-boiled.

Another girl carried toast and Bacon.

The third, was Maria.

She was carrying a pitcher containing orange juice.

Maria was like the serving girls, but a little slimmer with raven black hair and dark indigo eyes.

Daniel and Maria have been going out ever since the time when Maria bumped into him and spilt the Ice-cold tea that she was serving to the apprentice guardsmen on their shift in the library. She tried to clean it up by herself, but Daniel helped out, at the cost of abandoning his post near the children's wing, and delivered the rest of the tea to the Headmaster, who took it with a raised eyebrow.

"You…helped? Her?" asked the Headmaster when he took a sip of the Ice-cold beverage. "Yes sir." Daniel had said, at full attention.

" Hm, well, do you know what happens when a guardsman abandons his post to help a citizen?" Daniel looked at the Headmaster and said "No sir."

The Headmaster sighed and said, "You will be punished for this, Daniel."

"I know sir" Daniel said.

"Then why did you do it?" asked the Headmaster.

"I did it to show that the Guardsmen cared for one another, to show the citizens that we still cared about them and ourselves, sir."

The Headmaster thought about this, nodded, and smiled. "Excellent! Moral support! and a popularity boost! Yes, well done Wilks."The Headmaster said.

"Thank you sir." Daniel said.

"Well, I'll let you off with a warning, But if this continues like this. Well, we'll need to talk." Daniel flashed a salute. "Yes sir." The Headmaster stood up and returned the salute.

"You are dismissed."

Daniel turned, and walked out of the Office.

Maria was outside, sitting in a chair. "What did he say?" She asked. Daniel shrugged, "He let me off with a warning, that was pretty much it."

Maria smiled. "At least he didn't sent you to the mines, you're pretty lucky."

"Yeah." Daniel said, "I guess I am."

Maria stood up, and walked down the hall and was almost to the stairs that lead out to the wall; But Daniel called "Wait!" Maria turned to him, a raised eyebrow arched.

"Would you, I don't know, but, would like to… uh." Daniel stuttered. Maria asked, "What?" Daniel spilt it "Would you like to have lunch with me at the bell tower?" Maria smiled, walked back to Daniel and whispered into his ear.

"I would love to."

With that, she walked down the stairs, her hips moving with a rhythm that encouraged Daniel to look with wide eyes.

He shook his head, smiled at the memory, and realised something. He asked a girl out. He did it! Daniel, regardless of any sense, pumped his fist while wooping down the rest of the stairs.

Maria turned to see what the commotion was all about and was greeted with a bell tone. Daniel was ringing the bell of the northern wall, wooping with glee.

Maria shook her head. _Boys._ she thought with a sigh.

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Whew! that was tough to write out! anyways, review please, please, please! and hope to see you soon again with chapter 3!


	3. Spreading Rumors

Well guys, thank you for sticking around to this little FanFiction that i made. Also i would like to thank Shadowclanwarrior for her review and for the invisible tea. Guys, check out her fanfictions, they are really good. also, since this is my first fanfiction, Please, Please, PLEASE review, favorite, and PM me for ideas and for other things. That is all.

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Chapter 2

Spreading Rumors

"C'mon Daniel! Shield up!"

Daniel gritted his teeth as his opponent, a training golem, reared up and molded its own hand into a hammer before slamming it into his iron shield.

"Good! Now slice him!"

He threw down the shield, which made the golem stumble and fall to the ground. Daniel got onto the Golem and stabbed his sword into its back.

He tried to hack at the beast, but the Golem roared and stood up, which was at least 6 feet tall with muscles and two jutting tusks, with Daniel clutching onto his sword, in leather armor, hanging on to dear life. The Golem roared and tried to shake him off, but Daniel hoisted himself to its shoulders and started to hack at the monsters head. Hunk after hunk of clay started to lop off of the beast until; finally, the training Golem was only a small pile of clay, animation scroll scraps, and a fading memory.

"Excellent!" roared Nicholas Ryder. "You see there, Rookies?" The New guardsmen, only around ten or eleven looked at Daniel with wide eyes. "That's what you'll learn if you become a swordsman, Mr. Phillips!" A small boy with high cheekbones with body of a starved dog looked up to Daniel with shining eyes.

"Uh, Yeah!" said Daniel to the new rookies who would be "the future of the kingdom!"

"Go… Swordsmen?" Daniel said, tired with less enthusiasm than before. "Right, well, class dismissed! Remember, Homework! Continue with the training exercises in the sleepbox and tomorrow we'll be having mock fights during the class period." Ryder said with a clap of his huge hands.

The class got up from the seats that were spread out on the floor of the arena and left the sparring hall. They probably left to the Bell tower, to learn how to use signals or to the medicine hall, to learn how to control blood flow and to heal battle wounds.

Daniel took off the leather helmet and let out a breath of air. Sweat dripped off of his forehead. Ryder grabbed the canteen and poured some water into Daniels hair.

"Thanks, I needed that."

Ryder nodded and took a swig from the canteen himself. "Man, I asked Hatch for a training Golem, and gives me a flipping Bull Golem!" He shook his head and took another swig. "Temperamental bastard, all I did was give his grandson a minor note, saying that he could of used a lunging strike to the gut in the arena, but he still has a grudge against that. Even if that was 2 months ago!"

Daniel snickered "Tell me about it. Last quarter, I did a perfect healing spell with Mage boost but he still thinks I'm lousy with magic." Then, he realized something.

He checked his pocket watch from his pants and his eyes widened. "Oh, crap! Uh, I got to go. I'm supposed to do the Stairs today!" Ryder looked at him with raised eyebrows "The stairs of the Phoenix? I thought that was for the seniors!" Daniel grinned, "yeah, it is, but only for the top floor, the bottom is wide open, besides," He added casually. " I volunteered for the position."

Ryder nodded but then he intoned. "Those stairs are supposed to be haunted by the spirits of the Final wars, you can hear them moan and cry for their lost ones."

Daniel was taken aback. "R.. Really?" He said nervously.

Ryder flashed a toothy grin, his light brown eyes twinkling. "Naw, that ain't real, you always believe in that type of stuff, Wilks! You're superstitious! That's what you are!' Daniel rolled his eyes, cursing at his stupidity again, put his helmet back on, made sure that the leather armor is securely tightened around his vitals, and then ran off out of the sparring hall and down to the elevator that was the only path up and down the wall.

The elevator was already in business with senior guardsmen and Apprentices going from the wall, to the Town Square, where the markets were being set up.

Daniel nodded at the Keeper, an old man with a cane in tattered linen clothes and a tangled white beard. "Okay good sir…. Where to?" **The Keeper **said in a quivery voice.

"Town square, near the Stairs." Daniel ordered. Then he smiled and handed him a gold coin "and a stop in the library, it's for a package to the librarian."

The Keeper nodded and pulled on a lever that clearly stated "Stairs of Phoenix –one way"

The elevator changed gears from the Market stalls to the Stair and then the elevator lurched forwards. The top wheels going down the path, cutting through the zip-ropes that were laid out for the trip.

25 minutes later, He made it down to the landing platform.

A different Keeper was waiting for him, a man with Scottish origin and with a bald head, also in tattered clothing. He also had an eye-patch.

"Well, wee laddy, Going off on an escapade are we?" the Keeper commented as Daniel stepped off of the elevator.

"No, just guardsmen work." He told the Keeper as he flashed the badge on his right sleeve that was sown onto the black fabric of the long undershirt.

"Ah." The Keeper said then, he took a swig from a hip flask, the smell of raw spirits on his breath when he started talking. "I see, well, off with ya, then."

Daniel, holding his breath from the smell of the spirits, nodded and ran off. Down alleys, through streets, then by the storefronts.

That was where he heard something. _Something beautiful_.

Daniel brought out his sword and held it in both hands.

There was _music_ in the air, reader. Music was forbidden in the kingdom, one of the strongest of rules that were not made to be broken. It was coming from an alley.

It was radiating a green glow. He edged closer to the alley, slowly, not to disturb the perpetrator.

As soon as he got into the alley and was walking up it, he heard two men whispering in the adjacent alley that branched off to the left, with the singing to the right.

"Cor, look at this lot!" one voice said, it was tough sounding. "Yeah, now, lets see what else the old coot's been hiding in his cellar!" another voice said, deeper than the first voice's.

Daniel was in a fix there. On one hand, he could destroy a kingdom-wide threat, but on the other hand, there was petty crime, which was not meant to be…. He looked to the right and sighed, cursing his better judgment towards physical crime and not musical crime. Then he ran off into the right-hand alley, Promising that he would catch the criminal, but he had things to do first of course.

When he exited the alley, the first thing he did was locate the thugs.

They were loading weapons in a wooden cart. Spears, Broadswords, even a foreign sword from the east in which he had never seen nor heard of.

He pushed himself against the wall; keeping to the shadows, no noise, only quiet footsteps.

* * *

The Bandits were too greedy to notice the boy in the shadows; they didn't even notice the throwing daggers that he held between his fingers.

A quick flash of silver and then the Bandits felt pain in their feet.

They looked down to see that two daggers were imbedded into the center of their feet, one for each foot.

They heard someone clicking his tongue. "Really? You had to steal something that was so predictably wanted in these times?" A boy of fourteen stepped out of the shadows and came into the light of a blue-lighted torch.

His brunette hair, it was blowing in the wind. And his blue eyes bluer in the torchlight. "Uh, well, uh." The Bandits stuttered together, for the boy was a guardsman, a swordsman to be exact.

"Now, you know that you will pay for this, right?" The Bandits still looked at him. "Do you understand me?" The Bandits nodded, very quickly with wide eyes.

"Okay." The guardsman muttered. His eyes turned purple as He started to perform the spell, "Darke Clothe", the spell that the **King** had conjured for the citizens.

Its main purpose was to make the victim a loyal slave to the **King. **But the guardsman was only focused on one of the Bandits, not the other. He was reaching for the daggers that were already making his feet bleed.

The guardsman flexed his fingers, and liquid darkness flowed up to his hand and weaved itself into a blindfold. He held it to the blue torchlight so the Bandit could see his impending future as a slave.

Then a flash of silver came down, and the guardsman looked up. The blindfold of shadows was in tatters. The other bandit cracked his neck and knelt down and pulled out the other daggers out of the other ones feet. He handed the other set of daggers to the first bandit, who took it with a craggy toothed smile.

Then they both held the sets in their hands, blades down, with the handles up. "Looks like the tables 'ave turned, eh?" the first bandit asked while the other one chuckled evilly. "Yeah" the guardsman said. As, he drew his sword. "Almost."

Daniel stared at the bandits with focused eyes; he knew what the bandits were going to do, he had fought bandits before. They charged at him with the knives in front of them. Daniel swung his sword into a figure 8 motion. The Bandits slipped and scrambled out of the way so they wouldn't get chopped up. But they tried to hack at the sword slices. Daniel spun his sword clockwise, and the blades of the knives were chopped off from the hilts. He smirked "Now, this is the part when you surrender." The bandits grudgingly held their hands up with a lot of grumbling involved; Daniel smiled very sweetly and said; "now all we have to do is this."

* * *

The Bandits looked at the guardsman with wide, fearful eyes, since they were already tied up and gagged. "Just this one last thing that I got to do unfortunately." The Guardsman muttered. He loaded his crossbow, which contained six short bolts. He aimed at the Bandits, and fired. Everything went black.

* * *

"Man, I hate this part of the job." He muttered as he tossed the bodies of the bandits into the inferno chute, which was a miles walk from the weapons armory.

_Now, where to? _ He **summoned** a compass orb to direct him first to the Stairs, then to the Library. The Orb obliged and zoomed off, leaving a trail of blue light that would direct him. Daniel followed the trail, going past the markets, through streets, and finally to the **Stairs of the Phoenix**.

It was an impressive sight. A stairway leading to the **Beacon of Life**, one of the three defenses that the Old King had used to protect the kingdom from **Darkness.**

Now it's open pit was only cold ash, protected by an unbreakable door with a huge carving of one of the forbidden instruments of the kingdom, which was a violin.

Some of the Senior Guardsmen were already at the door landing at the top of the stairs while the apprentices were at the bottom. They didn't take their duties too seriously like some of the other Guardsmen. Instead of making sure that the Stairs were protected, they played cards and messed with each other.

Otto was with the others, playing cards. One thing that Daniel disapproved of Otto's personality is that he has a gambling streak. When Daniel got a better look at what he was gambling, he shook his head. Otto was betting his boots for two bags of gold coins.

"Hey! Otto!" Daniel called as he went up to him.

"Don't let me break my concentration Danny-Boy." Otto said through gritted teeth. "One wrong move, and my boots are on the market."

The other player, an archer by the name of Harry Keller, flashed a grin and asked in his cocky voice "Thinking of losing, are you?" Otto glared, "You can count your small arse I wont lose." Harry slowly started to frown with intensity as the game continued. Daniel watched for a while as the two threw down cards, 6 of diamonds, a 4 of clubs, and a 7 of hearts later, Otto was declared the winner.

"Guess I get to keep my boots, and you, my two bags of coins."

Harry groaned and asked "Cant we do a rematch?"

Otto smiled as he collected the bags, then answered "Nope."

With that, Otto and Daniel left to do their shifts.

"I tell ya, Dan." Otto said as they patrolled the streets surrounding the Stairs. "Harry get worse at cards every time I play a game with him."

"Hey." Daniel snapped, "Don't get cocky, one day he will beat you." Otto laughed and replied "Sure, like the day when the farm swine actually learned how to fly?" Daniel sighed and tried to ignore him, but Otto was on a roll "Or, or" Otto giggled "the, remember the time when we both played that prank on Rodger with the rubber hammer?"

Daniel had to chuckle at that memory, "yeah, and how he got us back by rat-tailing us at the showers?"

Otto laughed "Good times, good times indeed." They completed their shifts in silence and headed back to the elevator, where Daniel waved him off and told him to save him a chunk of bread and cheese.

Otto nodded and promised him that. With that, Daniel turned and headed towards the library.

A couple of minutes later he stood in front of the **Library of the Sages.**

In his arms he carried a basket of fruit, bread, and cheese. He walked through the huge Oakwood double doors, past the reference clergy, and up the grand staircase.

The library was laid out before him, books sprung from the shelves, literally.

The Flying Books of Stonebriar was the most incredible sight of all ages.

The enchanted books would fly out of the shelves and into the reader's hands. Daniel looked these marvels for a little bit before moving on, up another flight of stairs.

He past the history section, and was about to move on when he heard some whispering in the second aisle. It was the **Bishop, **a squat little fellow with a priests robe to add with his **Darkness** cloak, which made his eyes glow emerald, and the **Regulator**, the head of the Demon's Tail Quadrant.

He was a tall figure, a brute of sorts, who never took off his armor. His armor was so richly adorned with medals that the **King** made another copy of it, but out of molded **Darkness**.

They were talking in hushed whispers. Daniel strained his ears to hear what was the conversation was all about over the banister, occasionally moving down the stair to hear well.

"Are you sure?" the Regulator said in his harsh voice. "Yes." The Bishop replied."As the head of the church, I do hear all of my sons and daughters confessions and that one still amazes me."

His voice trailed off as he looked around, then he lowered his voice.

"The girl has been spotted in the Tower. I know it! Especially with that servant, Franklin."

The Regulator chuckled. "you believe in fairy tales, Bishop, and your "religion" is nothing but a weaklings second defense."

The Bishop cringed a little, but still said. "Well, tell me this, I have twenty thousand and two hundred fifty sons and daughters of the church, and all have confessed to seeing the girl! Do you understand me?" A little ferocity in his voice "In. That. Tower. Is. The. Girl. And. She. Is. Wanted. By. The. King!" he said with clarity.

"But why is she **so** important exactly?" the Regulator asked. "She is the daughter of that Stonebriar! The one that our King killed during that despicable war that we waged against the old kingdom" The Bishop whispered fiercely, "She is the true queen, not our king!"

Daniel's world blew at those words.

_She is the true queen! _

The words rang in his skull as he ran up the stairs to the Librarian's office, which was at the top floor.

He paused, shook all of the thoughts out of the conversation out of his mind, and knocked on the door.

"Yes?" an old, yet strong, voice called from the inside of the office. Daniel opened the door and proceeded through, and into the office, which wasn't an office after all, but a library unto itself.

It was massive. The bookshelves were each 12 feet tall and had ladders on each shelf. There were stacks upon stacks of books, scrolls of archaic magic, and diaries on the many tables. But the ceiling was constructed to be an observatory, to locate stars and planets.

The voice called "Mind the Books!" too late. Daniel accidentally toppled a tower of books, which fluttered for a little while before flying away out the open door. There was loud stomping as someone went down the observatory's wooden steps. "Alright, you dog!" came an angry voice. "It better not be the essays on the Necromancy studies or the Kingdom schematics because if it is.."

The Librarian came into view and stopped.

He was a tall, thin man with spectacles on the bridge of his nose. He had a sort of wrinkled face that was stretched out, but was still wrinkled. His Darkness cloak made his pupil-less eyes glow a dark blue.

He paused, blinked, and slowly smiled. "Well, Daniel Wilks! Haven't seen you since, well, a long time ago! How are you?" Daniel smiled and hugged the Librarian, who was a close mentor to him and he also counted as a father figure, and The Librarian returned it. "Very well, very well. Just got you this from the kitchens." He said, holding up the basket of food in one hand.

"Ah! Excellent! Put it over there, near the Charts."

Daniel set it down after the Librarian cleared off a spot to put the basket on. "Ah! Let's see what we have here!" the Librarian exclaimed.

He rummaged through the basket, searching for some items. A loaf of bread here, some grapes there, and a hunk of cheese were produced for his liking.

"These would do just nicely." Said the Librarian, nodding. Without a word, he put the food onto a wooden plate and started to eat ravenously. "Librarian!" exclaimed Daniel. "You never ate this hungrily when I gave you that last basket a week ago! Why is that? Did you discover a new constellation?"

"As a matter of fact." Said the Librarian, while chewing, "I did." He pointed to one of the star charts, one had a new mark on it. "See there? That is an extraordinary one."

Daniel took a look at the star charts, there was in fact, a newly discovered constellation etched onto the chart that sort of looked like a..

"Needle." The Librarian said, interrupting Daniel's thoughts, "Yes, I am calling it the Needle. Do you see this? It always points to the North Star, well, not all the time. You see, every hundred years, I think that it points to the other stars! See?" He pointed to the other charts as he chewed on a heel of bread. "It can point to the East star, West, and South! It's like a compass!" Daniel nodded distractedly, still thinking about the conversation that he eavesdropped on with the Bishop and the Regulator.

The Librarian looked upon the child, heavily into his own thoughts. "What are you so distracted about?" asked the Librarian.

"Its just that.." Daniel started, but was cut off by the Librarian.

"First, sit down, then tell me."

Daniel sat down in an overstuffed chair whilst the Librarian sat in the chair that was near the fireplace.

"Now, now you can tell me what is on your mind." Daniel thought of how to put it into words in which the Librarian would understand.

"Well, I've heard a, uh, rumor that's been popped up."

The Librarian nodded and asked, "Does it have to do with the fruit bowl?"

Daniel looked at him questionably. "What? No! It's a different rumor." "Oh, okay, go on." The librarian said, relaxing back into his chair.

"It's about the tower."

Daniel's face was stone as he told him the news.

"They say that they've seen a girl in that tower, she's wanted by the king." The Librarian nodded and picked an apple from the basket and crunched on that thoughtfully

"Yes, I heard of that rumor before."

He swallowed and took another bite. "The girl in the tower, pff," He snorted, "the only thing that I do see is those statues in the tower's courtyard and on the balcony."

He swallowed that and bit off another apple piece. "What statues?" Daniel asked.

"Ugh, don't mention those in my presence. But I will let it slide, for now." The Librarian groaned, but he continued.

"The statues are based off of some _minor_ constellations, but, I can show them to you if I find that chart.."

His voice trailed off as he put down the apple core and searched the star scrolls, muttering to himself "Where is it? Where is that scroll? I know I put it somewhere…" His voice trailed off again but then the cry came up.

"Aha! Here it is!"

A single scroll stood out from the rest, it was underneath other minor constellation scrolls.

The Librarian grabbed that and brought it to the viewing table. Daniel cleared a space amidst the piles of books and scrolls and the Librarian set it down.

He unrolled the parchment and pointed at three different star patterns. A rabbit, a raven, and a snail stood out from the rest of the stars.

"What are those stars?" Daniel asked.

The Librarian snorted, disgusted at the sight, or so did Daniel believe, "Foul stars, but, it is part of the star maps. You see, the stars depict the three old gods of the universe. The Hare, here."

He said as he pointed to the rabbit.

"It was said that the Hare were shooting stars across the night sky. The Raven, there."

He pointed again to another constellation.

"The Raven is the night sky, with the wings being the night sky and air. The moon is supposed to be its eye."

Finally, he pointed to the Snail.

"The Snail, the last of the "Gods" it depicted the earth, the shell being the ground that we stand on."

Daniel gazed upon the stars in wonder, the Librarian snorted. "They aren't actual stars though, it's just myth and lore. They're things to tell children when they go to bed and all that." The Librarian checked his pocket watch. "Ah, damn. I wish I could chat with you more, but the Hour of night falls in ten minutes." The Librarian patted Daniels shoulder " You should go now." He added. Daniel nodded and turned to exit, but paused in the doorway. "Good night, Librarian." Daniel said. "Good night, Master Wilks." The Librarian replied. He smiled as Daniel walked out, then turned and headed back to the telescope platform.

Otto kept his promise.

As soon as Daniel got to the Elevator and back to the Guardsmen campus, and back to his little Sleepbox, he was greeted by a basket of food that was placed on his bed.

He smiled. _Otto, old chap, you did it again._ He thought as he searched through the basket.

There were dried meats, two loaves of bread, thick loaves of cheese with creamy centers, and a single orange amongst the blankets that had hidden this treasure. He took the orange, a loaf of cheese, and a loaf of bread.

He got a wooden plate and two knifes, one for the cheese and one for the bread loaf. After his little feast, he sprawled on his bed, already in his sleeping clothes. _A full stomach and a soft bed to sleep on, what could be better?_ He thought as he tried to go to sleep. He couldn't though. That nagging thought at the back of his head was overwhelming that he couldn't stop thinking about it.

The girl.

Who is she?

Maybe she's a Bandit's daughter.

Maybe she was the daughter of the King.

Either way, it wasn't his problem. Is it? Daniel shook his head and tried to sleep, but his eyes stayed open.

And they continued to stay open for twenty more minutes.

Daniel was frustrated, why wouldn't he sleep? He sighed.

_Well, at least let me do something whilst I wait for sleep_ He thought as he got up.

He got out his sword, and practiced some of the techniques that Ryder had taught him that day.

The sword whistled through the air as he stabbed it, hacked at it, and finally used a finishing blow.

Daniel cursed himself; the sword got stuck in the floorboards of his Sleepbox. He pulled it out and examined it. No damage, but he did notice that the blade's point was dull.

He took it over to the grinding stone, his own little place to sharpen his sword.

He got his goggles and leather gloves, and then got to work. He held the sword by the hilt and carefully grinded the blade, sparks flying off of it. After some time of grinding, he finally held it to the light. Sharp, perfect. Daniel smiled and took off his gloves and goggles.

Then, from his window, he heard… Daniel gasped and looked out of the window.

It was the music again! This time it was near.. The Tower! Daniel hurriedly put on his clothes, grabbed his crossbow and sword scabbard, and quietly opened the door of his Sleepbox.

He quickly slid down the ladder and landed on the bottom floor. He quickly looked around to make sure that no one was around. Then, he opened the door and hurried out, into the calm air of the night.

* * *

Far beyond this scene, there was a girl, the same girl on top the tower.

She was cold, and shivering. She wrapped the red scarf over herself as best as she could, but it came loose and blew with the wind.

It whirled and twirled, like a ballerina dancer in front of her before the wind blew it away, in direction to the town.

She sighed and rubbed her hands, trying to get some heat generating.

And then something flashed from behind her.

She looked back; a woven green blanket was lying on the landing. She hurried to it and wrapped the blanket around herself. She sighed with happiness; it was very soft and warm.

She noticed the note on it and grabbed it.

_ He is coming, he will save you. I promise that you will rule, young queen._ The note read.

The girl frowned, no signature. _Strange,_ She thought,_ I doubt that she is a well-wisher, but she did get me a blanket_ _and that matters more._ With that she drew the blanket tighter around herself.

Looking out at the town that she once called home, she wondered _but the question is who will save me? Indeed the.. King,_ She thought disgustedly. _He wants_ _my head, but I will destroy the tyrant! I promised Franklin, and I will do it!_

She felt her eyelids drooped as the warmth of the blanket was slowly taking her to sleep. _I promise Franklin, I will be the…_ Her thoughts trailed off as she slept, the moon peeking out from clouded over skies.


	4. The Darkness Unfolds

Daniel looked around the campus, making sure that no one was out.

The Nightsmen were already outside, they were Guardsmen who took the night shifts and they were all seniors. Daniel quickly moved to the shelter of a crate that was near the edge of the wall. The Nightsmen were known for their stealth in the shadows, and their skill in the crossbow and the dagger.

_This is bad, _Daniel thought, _they all got Hellhounds_.

it was true, each Nightsman had a hellhound. They were fierce beasts, made out of shadows. Each one unique as the Guardsman they were partnered with.

Daniel found himself breathing heavily, his hand clenched over his chest. A sick feeling was in his stomach, maybe from too much food, or maybe… fears_?_

_Fears of that… thing?_ He thought.

The Hellhound perked up, its nostrils flared. It growled softly.

The Nightsman crouched and put his hand on the dogs' head. "What is it, boy?" the Hound looked up and growled.

Daniel covered his mouth, his nostrils flared. The hound advanced to the crates, slowly inching to it.

Daniel cursed himself; he knew that the Hellhounds smelt fear, so why did he accidentally forget that? He closed his eyes, expecting the loud bark of the beast, and was surprised to hear a loud howl in the distance.

The Hound looked up, eyes wide, the Nightsman looked up too.

"C'mon Boy!" he said, " Something's wrong at the Church!"

they both ran to the elevator lines, and the Nightsman used his zip-hooks, a device that allowed the older Guardsmen to go from the wall, to the town without having to use the elevator.

The Hellhound grabbed onto the back on his uniform, his claws in the fabric. Then the Hellhound melted into the uniform, turning the senior into a figure of molded darkness. A trail of darkness was flowing from the figure as he zipped down the line.

Daniel peeped over the crate that he was hiding behind. Nothing, only the Keeper at his post. He was snoring through the night.

Daniel moved away from the crate and quickly snuck away. He moved from one pile of crates to another pile. The Nightsmen didn't notice him as he made his way to the personal elevator station.

The personal elevators were like the elevators, but they ran along the wall and the hooks that would be attached by mechanisms that ran along the wall attached them.

Daniel opened the elevator's door, hopped into it, and closed it shut. He strapped himself in and looked at the many levers on the control pad. "Church" one said, another read "Grand Hall", the place where the council members of the King gathered when in times of need, He tried to look for one that said, "Tower", but he didn't.

Instead, he found a lever that read, "Maximum security, only council members are allowed here." He looked at the lever again, and then sighed. That lever was stuck; He had to use another lever to get to the tower. He looked around, and then ducked because a Nightsman walked past.

He peeped up when the guy was past and looked out the window at the light.

It was now… moving? Yes! Moving! It was moving from the Tower to the Church. Daniel turned back to the levers and found one that read "Church" he pulled it.

With a rattle of gears and a creak of a giant metal hook that picked up the elevator by the large metal hoop that was attached to the top of it. It lurched forward with a creak and a grinding of gears.

All of the Nightsmen looked up at the elevator and one of them called out "Hey! You!" too late, the elevator was moving along, going faster every minute or so.

Three Nightsmen jumped onto the service platform and used the zip lines. Daniel heard the clatter of the zip-hooks and looked back. He saw the three Nightsmen.

"Stop! Hold the elevator!" Daniel pumped the acceleration lever and it accelerated.

" No! There's something wrong at the church!" Daniel yelled back.

"You lie! There's nothing!"

Daniel looked at the church; there was the green pillar of light, still glowing.

"Can you not see it?" He yelled.

One of the Nightsmen said, "See what?"

Daniel pointed to the light. "That!" The Nightsmen followed his pointed finger, slowing down a bit.

That bought Daniel enough time to pump the acceleration lever some more to increase his speed from 16 notches, to 25 notches.

The Nightsmen looked back and yelled in anger as the elevator became a small dot as it got farther away from them. Daniel sat back and smiled.

Finally, he lost them. Now, all he had to slow it down. He reached for the brake lever, and pulled it. A loud snap followed and Daniel found himself looking at a broken lever and an out of control elevator.

"Crap!" he cursed.

He threw out the lever out the side window and tried to use the emergency brakes. Stuck, like his path to death. He was stuck in that elevator that was clattering down the path, at a dead end.

He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable, and then he found himself unbuckling the straps and jumping out of the elevator and diving from 15 feet. He landed, making a small crater in the cobblestones. He stood up, then shook his head and looked around.

He was square-dab in a… well, a square, with a fire pit in the center.

He found an exit to his right and headed out into a side market, already closing up for the night. Tents going down, fruits and other goods were being packed into sacks or crates for the morning. Some noticed Daniel and nodded at him as he walked down the street, others ignored him and kept on packing up.

He looked up, trying to get his bearings. Then he heard something. He turned back, and found himself staring at a group of peasants, heading down an alley.

He quietly walked up to them as they hurried down the narrow gap. They looked back, but they showed no sign that they would rebel against him in their eyes. One little boy with dimples even smiled at him, a small one. Daniel smiled back, and then looked up when he heard it.

A harp, it was played by a cloaked figure that was sitting, his legs were crossed and his back was leaned against the wall. Daniel squinted and rubbed his eyes, something was… wrong… He shook his head and tried to look at the figure. One thing that he didn't figure out was that the figure had a more curve to his figure, and a small bosom.

The figure was a girl.

Judging by her size, probably twenty years old.

She was singing something, something about forgiveness, a queen, and a rebirth in… fire? No, not in fire. In the cold darkness of death. The hour growing near for the fall of the King.

The same little boy that had smiled at Daniel looked at the figure.

Then, carefully, he edged shyly to her.

The hood turned, and the figure placed a hand on the boys' head. Daniel's eyes widened, the figure was trickling darkness all over the poor kids' head.

Before he could stop her, the boy had turned into an **Imp**, one of the creatures that had caused so much grief to the villagers.

They would demolish crops and terrorize them. It shook its floppy, little ears and stretched its tiny limbs and crooked back. It smiled crooked toothed smile. Then it jumped onto the wall and climbed up, before leaving with a waft of odor behind him.

He looked at the figure quickly before drawing his sword and pointing it at her. "Do you know of what crimes that you have made for doing… this?" He asked incredulously.

The figure continued to play her piece, still singing. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" He tried to touch the figure, but he couldn't. Some barrier was blocking his hand, making sure that the figure wasn't touched. His hand was literally frozen in mid-air.

"No, it is you who is causing the crime."

Daniel was taken aback by the figure that had suddenly spoken. "Don't play games with me," He said trying to move his hand, "I am not a fool!" with that, he pulled his hand out.

The figure was still staring at him. "No, hardly a fool, you don't even see the wool over your eyes." Her voice dripped with sarcasm and a little of sadness.

Daniel was confused, "what wool over my eyes? You truly are a tricky one, you mad creature." The figure tilted her head. "Mad, am I? Well, lets see who mad when I save you from your cage."

Daniel looked at the figure in wonder, then in horror. She was reaching out, one hand exposed and dripping with darkness and the other pulling her hood down, showing a face that wasn't a face at all but a mask of dripping ooze. She grabbed a hold of his face and cackled, "Foolish BOY!" She screamed. None of the villagers were alarmed at the sight.

Some shook their heads, others shrank back by a little, but most of them just stared. Daniel tried to get out of her grip, but it was too tight. He felt himself slipping to the ground as his eyes rolled into his head. He didn't see anything in the blackness. Nothing to see, or to feel.

Then, could it be? A light! Something to go by! He walked towards the light, but it moved away from him. He jogged towards it, the light moved farther away from Daniel.

He sprinted, going past cave after cave of nothingness.

After sprinting for hours on end, he made it to a dark lake, murky water quietly sloshing onto the shore. He slowed down, panting heavily and a dry throat to boot. He knelt on the shore and cupped his hands in the water. He raised the water to his lips, but the light shone brighter when he did that. He squinted, the water dripped from his hands as he raised his hands to his eyes.

"Don't drink the water." A voice said. Daniel looked down at the pool, then to the light. "Why?" he asked.

"The light came closer to him, now shimmering into the form of a young maiden with freckles, and long auburn hair. She had green eyes and was wearing a tunic with flowers on the shoulders. She carried a harp, like the figure in the cloak…

"It is your sins, your darkness in your soul." She continued, coming closer now.

Daniel gasped, the maiden had… Deer antlers growing out of her head!

She wasn't summoning the green light, no; the green light was being conjured from her! Daniel stepped back, terrified now, He stammered, "What. What…what? Who are you?"

The maiden smiled slightly and walked forward slightly, strumming some notes on her harp. "Hm, after all of these years you haven't even recognized me?"

Daniel watched her as she walked around him, still strumming a melody that could only be defined as haunting. "I hardly know you, and yet you claim that you know me? That is…"

"Impossible?"

the maiden finished her song and smiled at him. "It could be so, or you don't believe me and it is the truth." Daniel got straight to the point.

"Enough riddles, why am I here? And more importantly, where is "here?"

The maiden nodded, and then turned away. "Follow me." Suddenly, the form of the maiden morphed into a single ball of green fire with small deer horns on its head. It zoomed off, into the distance.

Daniel looked back at the pool, now the water looked darker than before. He looked away; a cold shiver ran up his spine as he walked away. He thought he heard some squelching on the shore, so he turned back again. He caught a glimpse of a… thing coming out of the water. He ran towards the light. As he ran, he caught glimpses of the ball of flame. It was moving in a zigzag movement, dodging trees that were growing in the shadows, the black leaves falling from the branches underneath a black sun.

"These are lies, lies that your mentors have told you about your childhood."

The trees started to sway in the breeze of an undeterminable wind.

"What lies?"

The spirit looked back and said. " In order to purify you of your darkness, we must forgive and learn the truth! You have been a servant of the darkness for too long, I must exorcise you of your corrupt mind."

The flame started to glow brighter, too bright for Daniel to look at.

He covered his eyes as the light bathed the landscape in green light.

Images flashed in his mind.

The boy, so terrified, surrounded by dark dogs that barked and gnashed their teeth at him. A sword, it was used by a man with long black hair with a badge of a flaming bird hammered onto metal armor and anger in his eyes. He slashed at the dogs and they disappeared in a puddle of black gunk. He picked up the boy and ran to a wagon, the horses still tethered to a fence post.

He set him down on the backseat and told him

"Look away, chin up. Your father loves you, at least, that's what he said"

The boy nodded and turned away from the carnage as it continued, swords smashing against each other.

Then, Daniel awakened.

Eyes opened to see the world, as it was truly is.


	5. The Tower, The Traitor, And the Sadness

Chapter 4

The Tower, the traitor, and the Sadness

Daniel stood up from his surprisingly found kneeling position and looked around, now that his eyes were clear.

His vision trailed to the ground as a dark strand of cloth disappeared in a puff of smoke. He looked up, now realizing that the world he was seeing right now.

It.. Was a twisted version of Stonebriar. The houses were crooked, and some were dilapidated and falling apart. The sky was dark, like the night sky, but with a dark and purplish hue to it. He looked at the villagers.

Instead of wearing tunics and cloaks, they only had rags and tattered blankets. All of them looked bedraggled some looked like they haven't eaten anything in days. Most of them looked sickly. The only thing that the villagers had in common was the dark pieces of clothe on their faces. They stumbled blindly at him, reaching out for something to grab onto.

Daniel backed up against the wall, his eyes widened at the sight of them as the villagers tried to find him. "Okay! Okay! Okay guys! Don't get all touchy-feely on me!"

The villagers hardly heard his cries as they touched his face, mumbling things that he couldn't hear but their tones were so desperate and sad. Their touch was so cold. Like all of their warmth was sucked out of their bodies, only to be replaced with a corpse-like feeling in the skin of their fingers.

A noise from a harp sounded behind the villagers. They turned and slowly walked, or in some cases shuffled, back towards the figure. She was still playing her song. Daniel reeled back in sadness. The melody was haunting, and the lyrics that went along with it were so sad. The figure sang in a high voice, one that had innocence to it

"Come, come back to the light. Come, see the flames!

And all that has been revealed, Come, see the light! and what you have watched

The Darkness has a heart of shadows… it can take control of your body and souls...

Dry, dry your tears. The queen, she is coming back! And all of the kingdom will forever be reborn…

. Come, see the light! And all that has brought before US!"

Daniel sniffed. The song was beautiful.

_So,_ He thought bitterly. _This is music. A crime that is dealt with by death. _

He fought back some tears and bit his lip. _This is my world? It's like a nightmare from a childhood that I never had._

Her song broke Daniel's heart.

"This… isn't what I signed up for, to look upon this world blind and let this continue." He whispered,

"So, now you know what you have seen is false."

Daniel, startled, turned around to see the figure with the harp.

But with a small difference this time. She had her hood down. It was the same girl from that… what?

From that weird place where his "darkness" was?

But, she was the same girl! The same auburn hair, the same green eyes, and the weird deer antlers! But, the light that she had produced didn't come off of her skin; it was **part** of her skin! It glowed a light green and it pulsed, like a heart beat.

The Maiden turned her head, and smiled a little. "This is what I do, I help the people. Awaken them, and resurrect them to the light." As she spoke she touched another villager's face. The darke clothe that was attached to the poor man's face glistened and started to become bigger due to the green light that was leaking into it from the Maiden's hand.

"Y.. Yes, I see. But, Who are you?"

the Maiden finished her spell and the Man blinked his eyes, and they followed the burning blindfold of darkness to the ground. He looked around, panicked, and then he fled the woman.

"Ah, well. He had so much potential. Too bad he was frightened of a change of scenery." She sighed to herself. "But…" She turned to Daniel slowly, "you, yes, Maybe.." She trailed off and Daniel felt indignant, " What? What is it?"

The Maiden put a finger to his lips and shushed him. "Shush now, shush. First off, my name is Andromeda. Now that that's taken care of, what's your name? Before all of this happened?"

Daniel straightened up. "Daniel Wilks, Swordsmen class. Apprentice Guardsmen, Quadrant number 645." Andromeda nodded. " Well, Daniel Wilks, Swordsman, Blind one, and resurrected man. What do you know of Stonebriar, before all of this happened?" She cast her hand, making Daniel look at the city, twisted and falling apart, and its villagers, huddled close together to keep warm in the cold night air.

"I…remember…nothing" Daniel caught himself in surprise, no, he couldn't forget his memories! He shook his head and closed his eyes. He clenched his hands and tried to remember something, a smile, a sword, anything! A cool hand touched his shoulder. He looked at it, then to the owner of that hand. Andromeda was sadly smiling up at him. "You can't remember anything, can't you?" Daniel rubbed his eyes, holding back tears. " Its just…. I can remember blurs of things. A hand, a smile, or a…."

He scratched his neck, chuckling a little. "A smack to the head from…someone."

Andromeda raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Daniel nodded. "Yes, but I don't remember who." He chuckled again

. Andromeda nodded and put a knuckle to her lips. "Hm…he has potential.." She trailed off again. Daniel tapped his foot and folded his arms. Andromeda plucked a string on her harp nervously. Then, she closed her eyes. Daniel looked at her curiously. She nodded, "yes, I see…" As if she was talking to someone, but somewhere else. She opened her eyes, then looked back to Daniel.

She smiled, then, she felt her cloak and found a pocket. She put her hand in it and pulled out something. It was something blue and gem-like, but she quickly pulled it away from Daniel's reach. Andromeda stared at him with wide and wary eyes.

All of the hairs of the back of Daniel's neck stood up from tension and fear. "What am I about to show you is so powerful and magnificent, it will change your life forever. But, you must swear by the Seven Codes that you will not use it in evil or in personal gain." Daniel was confused. "What Codes?" he said. Andromeda rolled her eyes, sighing. "Okay, well, swear by something, at least."

Daniel thought for a moment, trying to think of something. He scratched his neck, and his fingers came into contact with a small chain around his neck. He took it out of his shirt and looked at it. It was a small locket, in the shape of a heart.

He clicked the catch on it and it opened, revealing a small pictogram. It was a girl, with raven black hair and dark indigo eyes. Daniel studied it. A small word was on it, strangely, it was his writing.

"Maria"

He spoke the name out loud.

"Is that who you swear by?"

Daniel looked up. Andromeda was staring at him with soft admiration.

"I…Yes."

He caught himself. The word had fallen out of his mouth so quickly and easily. "Hm, the Oath of Love. A powerful Code of conduct. Very well, I shall grant you the power."

She held up the thing. It was a blue gem, slim and yet it was large enough to hold in your palm.

Daniel took the gem. It glowed and pulsed like a heart. He admired its beauty. Andromeda took it back and asked, "Well, you are a swordsman, correct?" Daniel nodded. She smiled and motioned for him to hold out his right hand. He stuck it out. Andromeda turned his hand. She placed the gem onto the back of Daniels right hand glove and held it there. He felt it on his hand, not believing how warm it was.

Andromeda began to mutter incoherent words and her eyes started to glow greener. The gem became hot. It started to steam and hiss against the leather, then against skin.

Daniel's eyes widened and his teeth clenched together, he squeezed the palm of his left hand while his right hand was burning in pain. In a way, somehow, it was melding with the Gem. He couldn't take it anymore. As the pain built up to a point when the fire became white hot, and cold in a way. He screamed in pain and sorrow and lust.

* * *

Maria woke up with a start and sat up from her bed. Her nerves were all on edge and her breath was cut short. A scream pierced through the night and it was so terrifiying.

She looked out of her bedroom window.

_What was that? _She thought as she came to look out of it.

The landscape of the town was spread before her and she was familiar with it. She could see the Bakery,and the Offices, where she was taken and placed into this… camp of boys and assholes, like that stupid one, Tiberius.

_God,_ She thought as she tapped her fingers on the metal railing that supported her window. He tried to ask her out. Again! After so many times she told him and his cronies "No, I'm already taken and you can't do anything about that so there."

She closed her eyes and inhaled the night breeze to calm her angered state and mind.

Maria leaned out of the window and the wind rustled her nightgown as she relaxed her arms on the metal railing. She looked out across the kingdom, staring into the distance. The scream pierced the night air and Maria fell back a couple of steps. Clouds were forming and the scream was so piercing and loud it was almost deafening. She tried to look at the screamer's location and…

"Oh my god!" She cupped her hands up to her mouth and bit her lip. It was the scream of her Boyfriend, Daniel Wilks.

* * *

Otto felt a push as he nodded off on his little perch on the stone staircase of the old Art studio.

"Oi!" He said as he brushed himself off from dust and dirt.

Tiberius and his fellow companions laughed. "Can't do a single job right, huh? And you call yourself a guardsman. You let some thieves in through the front gate! I guess its true, Gingers are stupid!" Artemis and Tim chortled at that. "Yeah, yeah! That's funny boss! That is right down funny, yeah, yeah." Artemis said, while Tim grunted "Fuh-ney. Ha, ha"

Tiberius patted Tim on the back "Tim, your lack of language is amazing, but sometimes it makes sense." He lowered his voice as he pulled his hand away from the girth of Tim "Five percent of the time, anyways"

Tiberius turned back to Otto. "And anyways… Otto…" He continued disgustedly.

" Its nearly Curfew hours. So…" He continued, patting him on the back. "I guess that you'll have to hurry up. I don't think that the Keeper would like a late passenger. Would he, boys?"

The two shook their heads and laughed. They started to advance on Otto, who started to pull out his spear. Tim grabbed his head and held him, while Artemis roughed him up with a couple of punches to the stomach and the chest. Otto clawed at Tim's hand, but he couldn't escape from his death grip. Everything started to get fuzzy, Otto's hands became more desperate as things started to get blacker.

"Well, looks like there will be a late passenger! Shove him, boys, and lets go home"

Otto was pushed into an alleyway and trash barrels clattered to the ground, spewing trash onto him. _Dammit._ Otto thought as he looked up at the stars, which were peeking up from the clouds._ I can't defend myself from those two._ _Tiberius calls himself a guardsman, but he hides behind those thugs. Damn coward._ He laughed at that and settled himself down on the filth.

_Well, at least I can get some peace here…._ He let the pain overwhelm him as his vision became blurrier and he fell asleep. But his eyes jolted away when he heard a pain filled scream in the air.

The smell of blood and burned flesh caught his nostrils and he coughed at the stench. Otto got up as best as he could and limped towards the sound, trying to get to the screamer to aid him, when he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, hey! You don't want to go in that direction." Otto looked at the hand, and then to Rodger, who smiled slightly.

" 'Ey." Otto said.

"Hello, now, I say we get out of here. There's a Banshee in these parts." Rodger replied, then he started to jog towards the elevator station, but he called back, "I don't want to tell you again. Follow me, before the Banshee, or the Nightsmen will get us." Otto nodded and followed Rodger to the personal Elevators.

But, he paused and looked back at the noise of the Banshee before running off with Rodger.

* * *

Somewhere, some when, in his chambers, the King awoke. His eyes focused from his dark slumber in his bed. He sat up and got out of the four-poster, and cracked his neck of tension. His manservant, Adam, helped him into his robe and tied it.

"Thank you, Adam." Adam nodded and stepped away.

The King stepped onto his balcony and put his hands in the pockets of the thick velvet robe. He closed his eyes and sniffed the wind. Ah… Perfect bliss… Darkness here and no light there. Hm. It's nice to be king. He smiled to himself and turned to get dressed properly.

A cry sounded from the kingdom. The King turned and a pillar of blue-turquoise light shot up from the kingdom, near the church to be precise, and blasted through the cloud shield that he had cast to let a little moonlight in through the clouds.

Now, the moon shined down, bathing the castle and the town in a silver light. The King gritted his teeth, but he can re-cast the spell again. Nothing a little magic can't fix.

The King raised a hand, poised to cover the moon , a bolt of blue energy shot from the pillar and hit his hand. It hurt, a lot more than he expected it to be.

The King held his hand and examined it. A burn was on the skin where the lightning bolt had struck. The King swept his robe and went back to His chambers. "Adam!" he called in his deep, dark voice. The manservant came, "Yes, my lord?" The King took of his morning robe and put on his Grande Cloake. "Call the Chancellor, tell him to summon the Council."

Adam looked taken aback. "The…Council, My lord?" The King gave him a withering look, "Yes, call the Council and tell them that there is something afoot." Adam brushed off the dust on the King's Cloake and nodded.

"Very well, my lord." He walked away, bowed, then opened the door and quietly closed it. The King looked back at the Pillar of light. It had started to fade now, but there was no questioning it.

"Ah, Sarina…" He muttered as he rubbed a purple gem set into his scepter, which was laid on a dark purple velvet pillow, "This isn't good. Not good at all. What shall we do?"

The gem pulsed and flashed. The King heard voices in his head, many voices in a raucous tenor, all of them saying the same thing. He nodded. "Very well." The King watched as the light faded away. "We shall kill the one that bears the ancient power."


	6. Through the Doors

Sorry you guys, I had a heck of a long time balancing my work life with this, and I really wanted you to read this new chapter. So, without further ado, lets continue to where we left off.

* * *

The smell of searing flesh and melting bone entered Daniel's nose and he gagged. He sat up, realizing that he had been lying on the ground of the alley and looked at his surroundings. It was the same alley that he had been in while meeting that girl, Andromeda… was that her name? A shot of pain throbbed up his right arm. He gasped and held it.

His own blood was dripping from his hand and shoulder, and onto the alley's floor.

"Dammit!" he groaned, he forgot about the wound, already fresh and in need of a bandage.

He grinded his teeth and pulled himself up with his left hand holding onto a piece of metal railing from a small balcony. Daniel leaned against the wall of the alley and paused for a little before noticing a huge blue gem set into his right hand. Most of the blood was seeping out of it. He tried moving the fingers, but another sharp pain reminded him of his situation now.

"Okay…got to find a bandage." He reminded himself, then he pushed himself off of the alley's wall and out, into the street.

Everything was quiet now, except for the shuffling of villagers and the crying of a starving girl who would beg him for food now and then, but he had other priorities to do than feed children.

"Please Sah! Give me a crumb o' something!" screamed the poor child.

Daniel chuckled sadly and he tried to walk away, but the girl grabbed his hand and yanked it. A sharp pain jolted through him and he glared down at her. The girl glared back and he felt someone searching his pockets and finding the half of bread that he was going to eat. "Thank ya sah!" she said brightly and then she ran off with a boy the same age and as grubby as she was. He sighed. _Well, there goes my meal._ He thought grimly as he searched through the empty market stalls in hope of a forgotten loaf of bread. Instead, he found a severed head of a poor soul. He reeled back and dropped the thing.

The head rolled off down the street. He brushed off his left hand on his overshirt and felt the breeze of a southern wind blow through him and he swayed in it. He noticed that something red caught the branch of a long dead tree and was now fluttering from it. Daniel walked towards the tree and hoisted himself onto one of the branches. Luckily, it was a short tree. He reached up and grabbed the red thing.

It was a piece of red cloth with tassels on the end. Daniel held it to the light and studied the thing, then, he wrapped it over his right shoulder and made a makeshift bandage. A jolt of pain seared down his arm, but, at least one of his injuries were cured…well, one, anyways. He still needed to find another bandage for the wound in his now gem-bejeweled hand.

The wind suddenly grew stronger as he walked down the cobblestones of his once treasured home. He used to know all of the alleys and streets and what exotic food was brought by from the vendors that he once called his family. Now, these streets were twisted and in repair, the Vendors had turned into shuffling villagers with dark bandanas over their eyes, and the exotic foods had turned to heads of men. He stumbled on some growing roots from old trees and, once, ended up in a huge dead end with coughing and sniffling villagers.

One lone villager noticed him, his hands trying to touch him with his hands covered in pustules. Daniel reeled back and ran as fast as his boots would take him. He ended up in a small park with some dead plants. He found a small bench near some dead grass. He sat down on it and pondered.

_I can't go back to the Guardsmen Station._ he thought as he looked up at the wall where the huge tower stood on the wall, he once slept in the sleepboxes there, now he didn't know what lurked in there now.

_But more importantly, what has happened here? I know that I may have been blind to some of the events that the other Guardsmen throw, like that one Otto threw in the grand hall, but this is ridiculous! _He held his head in his hands, my_ world... my life, a fake? All that I have done… Was it a fake? The bandits that I killed, were they hungry villagers, trying to rebel against this rule of the king? …Maybe the king is trying to protect us and is now fixing this, as I think! Yes! That is it!" _

He smiled at that thought… But then another thought came to him, a darker thought. _What if…What if he caused this? What if he made this monstrosity of a kingdom? With his subjects starving in the streets and sick with plague? _He shook that thought out of his as another breeze blew in and a small boy in a tattered jacket walked by a wrecked market stall.

_Oh, stop being so down on yourself._ A voice in his head said.

Daniel stiffened, surprised at the response. "What?" He stood up suddenly, sword drawn and pointing into the shadows.

The voice sighed and said_ Well, look who just realized that he isn't alone._ The voice retorted, and then added;_ At least you have a weapon_.

Daniel looked around, confused. "Are you my insanity that has came to me early?" He asked mentally.

The voice changed suddenly, becoming a little sour. _Well if I was, then, insanity must've come to you right now_

_._ Daniel put away his sword and started to sit down again when the voice came up, _No, don't sit down._

Daniel arched his eyebrows as he straightened up. "Why?"

_Because, you are not alone. The Shadae have not noticed you yet._

Daniel was just about to ask, "what's a Shadae?" when he heard footsteps in a rampage of sluggish slimy… Feet? Daniel looked over to the noise and his eyes widened as he saw a creature that…well, _it didn't have an exact form_. The thing, or Shadae, was a bloated orb with small feet and arms that didn't seem to hold a shape for long since it unstable at times. Fingers fell off, then new ones formed again, and then they fell off as fast as the previous set did. It was the same with the feet and sometimes the arms. Daniel took out his sword and was about to engage the monster when the voice came up again.

_Uh, uh, uh! _It said. "Oh, what now?" Daniel mentally thought again. _You don't have any strength to defeat it yet_ the voice said. "I have a sword," Daniel pointed out. _Yes,_ It agreed_ but you still don't have the strength to defeat it, yet._ Daniel shook his head and pointed his sword at the creature. It roared at him and belched out a glob of what it looked like black sludge. Daniel dodged it, but the glob turned into a smaller version of the thing. It howled back at the Larger Shadae and it latched onto Daniel's foot, then it transformed back into a black sludge onto his foot, which acted like a sort of glue onto his boot, which traveled up to his leg.

Daniel felt pins and needles and he went down. The Shadae was on top of him. It stuck out a long black tongue and licked its maw. _Do something!_ The voice shouted. Daniel shook his head and said, "I cant!" He stabbed at the thing's belly as it started to get nearer and nearer to his face. Daniel felt a wave of anger and frustration as the Shadae started to open his mouth and a belch of toxic gasses enveloped him, angry that he couldn't do anything and frustrated at himself for being stupid.

Then, The gem glowed. A bright blue light engulfed his hand blew away the smoke and Daniel raised his hand in wonder. His hand started to twitch, like it had a life of its own. His hand snapped into position, palm out to the thing, and a blue ball of energy formed. The Shadae didn't realize that the orb of power was his doom, so, it charged again at Daniel. Daniel's eye went to the orb in his hand, then to the Shadae. A smirk formed on his face and he thrusted the Orb at it, into his gaping maw. The Shadae swallowed it and it burped a little, then a lot. His form started to rise and grow in all of the places that weren't made to me expanded, then, it exploded.

_Eww... _

Daniel shook himself of the Gobs of black slime from himself and made sure that there were was nothing else on him. Daniel looked back at the Gem that was slowly pulsing in his hand. The blood that had poured out of the wound in his hand had stopped, and the wound on his arm had stopped as well. But, a new wound had sprung on his left arm. _Damn_ Daniel thought as he unwound the scarf from his right arm and then wound it around his left arm. The ends of the scarf were blowing in the wind as he ran away from the park and went out into the main street.

"All right, well, this can't get any weirder" Daniel said to himself as he leaned against another wall. "First a Gem is set into my hand, then a Voice comes up in his head, and now a… whatever that thing was tried to kill me, and then my Gem was…wait,"

Since when was the gem his? Daniel scratched his head and looked at the gem long and hard. It was still pulsing like regular, at least, that's what's he thought as regular. He got it from a weird lady with deer horns on her head and a harp with big dreams for him. Why is this happening to him? Is it destiny? Or is it just a bad day for him? He sighed and sunk down to his feet. If only there was someone to explain it to him…. Pain shot up his arm and an orb of light popped out of the Gem. It bounced off of the walls and floated in the air for a while.

_Its… it's a Tracker Orb!_ He thought.

_Of course it is. What are you, a newcomer at magic?_

Daniel gave himself a reality check and realized that the voice was still there. _Well? Aren't you going to follow it?_ The voice asked. Daniel just looked at the orb for a while, and then slowly followed it. He walked with his sword drawn, readying himself in case another one of those Shadae things happened to pop up again.

Daniel followed the orb until it hit the southern edge of the grand wall, which protected the kingdom from invading kingdoms, and then the orb started to get a little frantic. It pranced and bounced off of the cobblestone as the two walked into a large square with bronze statues were placed at three different angles of the square. Daniel looked at the three statues and realized that the statures were so familiar…a rabbit to the north, on its hind legs, a Crow with its wings pressed against its body, and a Snail… Say, they couldn't be….

_The Grand Constellations _The voice said_. The three guardians of the stars, and messengers._

"Messengers of what?" Daniel though_._

_ …You'll find out_. The voice replied. Daniel looked around, curious at the new surroundings. The statues looked foreboding, yet sad in a way. He kicked a small stone that was on the square's cobblestone design, a blazing bird. _Wait_. Daniel looked at the design closely. There were markings on it. Strange pictographs circled around the carving. He crouched and, not knowing what he was doing, started to trace the pictographs with his pointed finger of his right hand. Every time he finished tracing a pictograph, it spat blue sparks. A couple of minutes later, all of the pictographs were glowing. Daniel stood up and looked around again. This time, something in the air lightened. The carvings glowed with a blue aura and the scarf started to ripple in an invisible wind.

Daniel turned just in time to see a pair of Oakwood doors with carvings in iron and a small, but grand, stone staircase leading up to the doors that had materialized in front of him. A small piece of paper lay before him, on the bottommost step. A tingling sensation went up his left arm and he unwound the scarf as text began to appear on it.

_If you are reading this, then, I am in trouble. My defenses have been breached and the Tower where I have spent my childhood has been destroyed. Oh, dear Andromeda, If this is your "Savior" trying to save me, then this will be your last try. Once this next person steps in, it'll be all over. The defenses will kick in again, permanently. I shall be locked up in this Prison I call home. Dear reader. If you have read this and have met my close companion through thick and thin, then you may already have been given one of her "gifts"_ Daniel turned his right hand and nodded and read on, _but be warned. These creatures that you will face aren't the ones that you see in the streets, the creatures that are called man, no, these creatures are living shadows. Brought to life by a your "King" . In a way… Look, Please, help me escape. It's the only way to fix this problem, the problem of the people, the problem of the KINGDOM. Help me. _

There was no signature. But, there was a sketch of a key that was stitched onto the scarf. Daniel unstitched it and looked at it curiously. But, he looked at the doors for a minute.

He walked up the stair to them slowly, the key in his hand, Daniel glanced at the sketch, then to the doors, this time, his hand stuck the key into the keyhole. It fit, and the doors opened slowly, a putrid stench coming from it, as shadows rushed through him and pulled at him to go in. Daniel turned for one last look at the outside world before being pushed in and the doors closing after him. Then, they vanished. Just like a dream.

* * *

As always, Like all writer here do, I would gladly take reviews in and a whole lot more for you die hard fans of this (If there are..). Oh, and Check out Shadowknight1121's Fanfic, The Shadow Warriors, I incorporated an original OC in it, so reviews for that? No...Please? Jk. But seriously folks. Give me reviews!


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